Finding a Family
by Gillian Leigh
Summary: This is a William-fic. Twenty-three years in the future, this story centers around Will's being in the FBI and his search for a family he knows only in his dreams.
1. Chapter 1

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Title: Finding a Family, Part 1  
**Rating**: PG (a few curse words, what're you gonna do?)  
**Genre**: Angst... there's the possibility of an additional genre later on... I'm not sure yet..  
**Disclaimers**: Any characters who don't belong to Chris Carter, 1013 and FOX, are my creations.(Kalina, the Section Chief, and Alyse Baxter) Take them and die!!!! ::wink wink:: Oh and by the way, no copyright infringement intended. Please don't sue me.  
**Summary**: Set 23 years from the present, the story centers around William's entering the FBI and being assigned to the X-Files, and his search for the family he lost once.  
**Feedback**: YES PLEASE!! If you don't like it, flame me, and I'll take it in stride because I respect your opinions... :oP  
**Author's Notes**: I've been toying with this idea for a while. Let me know what you think. I know this kind of fic has been done before, but give this a chance, please.

J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building  
April 17, 2026

"You'd think that in the year 2019, they'd have the technology to save anyone from anything. Maybe we aren't as advanced as we once thought. I lost my mom and dad, well, the two people I knew as my mom and dad, in a car accident. A car accident of all god damn things. The paramedics rushed them to the hospital, but the doctors couldn't save them. They said that there was 'nothing they could do.' 

Another family, lost. My mom and dad, well, the people who adopted me, had the last name Van de Kamp. I had a mom and dad before them too, supposedly. Well, I guess I had more of a mom than a dad. Because from my what Mark and Sandra, my parents, told me, my birthmother was single, and she needed to do what was best for me. Or at least that was the load of horseshit the social workers handed her. 

They told me all of this when they told me I was adopted, about a week after my twelfth birthday, when I started noticing that I looked nothing like them. At the time, I had no interest in learning of my birthmother, or my birthfather. I was content to live my life as William Van de Kamp, son of Mark and Sandra Van de Kamp, their only child. My content didn't last long, however. It was only weeks after this when the dreams started up again. I hadn't been having dreams since I was eight, but when they came that summer after my twelfth birthday, they came every night. I soon became afraid to sleep, because I didn't want to dream. Although, when I knew that sleep was inevitable, I would hope, and wish and pray for the one "nice" dream to occur. 

In this dream, it's as if I'm floating around watching the scene that unfolds below me. I'm in a bedroom, a woman's bedroom. The walls and carpet are cream colored, there is a large feather bed with a pastel comforter on it, and the room is.. pretty. Simple, but pretty. There is a woman sitting on the bed, holding a bundle of blankets with a baby inside. She's singing a lullaby to her child. At the time I had the dream, the woman's face was etched into my memory, but as time has worn on, the minor details have faded from my memory. The woman's face is often replaced by faces of women I know as I struggle to remember what she looks like. But when I see her, I can still see her red hair, which came down to about her chin. She's wearing satin pajamas and a bathrobe and slippers. She sits on her bed, holding the baby, still singing to it. She has visitors, three odd looking men. They seem like a mismatched set, but they travel together. After they put their gifts on a table, and leave, a man enters the room. He's tall, much taller than the red-haired woman, and he smiles at her, and she smiles at him. He asks her, 'How's everybody doing?' Smiling, she stands and walks to him, responding, 'We're doing just fine.' She hands him the baby, and as he looks at the baby, all he can say is a breathless, 'Hi.' He asks the red-haired woman, 'What're you going to call him?' The woman looks up at him, and quietly responds, 'William. After your father.' The man looks at her, and the two look lovingly at one another for a long time. By this point in the dream, several things were evident to me. The baby is the child of this man and this woman, the child is a boy, and the child's name is William. I still find it odd that I dream of a child named William. Maybe it was because I so longed to find my real family that I dreamt up such a scenario with such a family." William asked of the FBI counselor he had begun having sessions twice a week with since he had officially became an Agent just over a year ago. The woman, who was new to the position of Counselor, nodded, making notes as William continued.

"Then the man jokingly says to the woman, but with a definite tone of affection in his voice, 'Well, I don't know. He's... he's got your coloring and your eyes. But he looks suspiciously like Assistant Director Skinner'." At this remark, the counselor, Alyse Baxter, looks at William with a hint of surprise. He notices her expression, and says, 

"What is it?" William asks, before continuing with the tale of his dream. Baxter shakes her head, saying, 

"Nothing, really. It's just odd that you dreamt of an Assistant Director, Skinner in particular. You've told me previously that at that age, you knew nothing about the FBI other than its name because you had seen the government provided warning on the videos you watched, and yet the people in your dream, mentioned an Assistant Director. Did you know what an AD was at the time? Had you ever heard the term?" William shook his head, 

"No. I hadn't a clue. Even my mom and dad weren't sure of what one was." Baxter nodded, taking note of this mentally. "You seemed surprised when I gave him the name Skinner, why?"

"Well, my mom used to be an Assistant to one of the Assistant Directors, and coincidentally, his name was Skinner. But it's a common name; anyone could have assigned it to a person in his dream." She motioned to William, saying, "Continue with your dream, William."

"Well, after that it gets a little fuzzy," he said, closing his eyes to remember better. "The woman says something to the man, something like, 'I don't understand. They came to take him from us, but why didn't they?' and she called the man something. She said his name. It-it wasn't his first name, it sounded too odd to be a first name. It started with an 'M', but, I can't remember what it was. I don't know who this 'they' is either. Then he says something to the effect of, 'I don't quite understand that either. Except that maybe he isn't what they thought he was. That doesn't make him any less of a miracle though, does it?' She says something next about 'fearing the truth', and he says something about, 'fearing the possibilities, the truth we both know'. But when the woman questions him, he doesn't respond, he only kisses her."

"But the man never calls the woman by name?" Baxter asked, growing more and more intrigued. 'Twelve year olds don't just create this sort of things in their minds...' she though to herself. 'There's got to be some basis in reality here.' William shook his head.

"Nope. He never once says her name in that entire dream." William had something more to say, but he paused, seeming unsure if he wanted to reveal it. Alyse Baxter took note of this and said, 

"William? Is there something more?" William looked at his hands clasped in his lap. He lifted his head, and said, 

"I know this sounds crazy, I mean, the ability of a person to experience a premonition, or a vision has never really been confirmed. But, what if.... what if, these are real people I've been seeing? They're not only in that dream, after all. They show up in almost all my dreams, related or not. What if my dreams are trying to tell me something?" William stopped himself, laughing and shaking his head. "No, now I sound crazy. Preaching all this 'premonition' mumbojumbo." He sat back, and sighed, running his fingers through his brown hair, which, though he didn't know it, was unruly just like his father's had always been. 

"What about the dreams which aren't so nice?" Baxter asked, "The ones you've said that you dread when you're falling asleep?"

"Next time," he said, simply because he could. "We'll talk about those next time."

He walked down the hall, and to the elevator, heading for his third floor office. Just as he pushed the down button on the elevator, his cell phone rang. 

"Van de Kamp," he answered, making the three syllables sound as one. 

"Agent Van de Kamp? This is Section Chief Morison's office. We tried your office, but your partner said you were out. I apologize for calling you on your cell phone; I hope I'm not interrupting anything?" Asked the unidentified caller, most likely the Section Chief's assistant. 

"Nope. I was just on my way back to my office. Should I come down to the Section Chief's office?" he said, holding open the door of the empty elevator, awaiting instruction. 

"Yes, come right down please." William was about to assure the caller that he would be there in a few minutes when he heard a click. He shook his head, stepping into the elevator and pushing the button for the second floor. Pocketing his cell phone, William was worried. The Section Chief was not someone who called Agents in for friendly conversation and tea. She was the epitome of Ice Queen. William straightened his tie and brushed off his suit before knocking on the door of Morison's office. He was greeted by an unfriendly looking man who did not return his warm grin, or move to shake Will's hand as he ushered him inside. He sat in a chair across the desk from that of Section Chief Elena Morison. Will felt his heart beating quickly in his chest and he clasped his hands in hopes of hiding his sweaty palms. S.C. Morison removed her glasses, and looked up from the open folder which sat on her desk, to look at William. 

"Agent Van de Kamp, good afternoon."

"Good afternoon, ma'am," Will said, while thinking, 'Get on with it already, you're freaking me out here.' 

"Agent Van de Kamp, I see here that you've been with us for just over a year. How is it that you came to be with us in the FBI? Especially here in D.C. I see that you were raised in Wyoming... Why such a big move?" Morison said, clasping her hands on her desk and leaning forward, eager for William's response.

"Well, after high school, I wanted a change of scenery, and an east coast school, it seemed, would provide that. Well, that and I felt that I could make a difference in the FBI. I, I guess I've just always felt strangely drawn to the FBI," he said, stopping himself before he questioned the Section Chief's reason for asking. He'd been told long ago, that asking too many questions can get you into hot water. Well, he wasn't sure if he had been told, but, 'Common sense tells you not to question your superiors' he thought to himself. The Section Chief nodded, and made her mouth move smile-ward, something Will was not accustomed to seeing her do. 

"Well, the reason we've called you here today..." 'Finally!' Will thought. "....is to inform you of your new assignment." William's heart dropped. What had he done to deserve reassignment? What was he being demoted to? The Department of Paper-Pushing? If he had known his mother, he would have known how much like her original assignment his would be. She had been called to the same office, seated in front of the same desk, and given word of her assignment. The Section Chief continued, "First of all, I just wanted to inform you, that this is not a punishment in any way. In fact, it is because we have been so impressed by your work and your strong scientific background that we have chosen you for this assignment. Are you familiar with an area of the FBI called the "X-Files", or Agent Kalina Doggett?" 

"I've heard of the X-Files; they're infamous and talked about all the time in the Academy, but I am not familiar with Agent Doggett," William said, feeling his heart sink at the prospect of being put on the X-Files. It was, from what he had heard, a garbage dump for the cases that the other departments didn't feel a need to pursue. It was the laughing stock of the Bureau, as were any Agents "blessed" enough to be assigned to it. 

"You'll be working with Agent Doggett, and our hopes are that you can do what only one other Agent before you has attempted to do. We want you to use your science to prove to Agent Doggett that there is no need to call these cases X-Files. We want you to invalidate all paranormal aspects of the X-Files, which Agent Scully, the Agent assigned before you failed to do before her leaving the FBI," Section Chief Morison said, rising. William did the same, and shook her hand. He left the office in silence, and went to his third floor office and packed his things. After bidding good bye to his current partner, who had already been spoken to, AND assigned a new partner as well, he headed for the dreaded basement office. He stepped into the elevator and as it began to sink, so did his hopes. They were shunning him, by putting him in that basement office; they were hiding him. William was lost in his own thoughts when he heard the voice of the woman from his dreams.

-_"I'm just constantly amazed by you.. you're working down here in the basement, sifting through files and transmissions that any other agent would just throw away in the garbage." _Startled, he continued to listen, fixated, as the male voice responded, 

-_"Well that's why I'm in the basement Scully."_ The red haired woman's name was Scully! She responded to his comment,

-_"You're in the basement because they're afraid of you, of your relentlessness and because they know that they could drop you in the middle of the desert, and tell you the truth is out there, and you would ask them for a shovel!" - _William shook his head, terrified and excited at the same time. He wanted the voices to go away, but he now knew the name of the red-haired woman... but what good would it do him? Of what significance to him was her existence? Besides, he didn't know if she was even still alive. Morison had said that Scully had "left the Bureau". William shook his head again, and put the thought out of his mind. 

He knocked on and then opened the door to the basement office, where the nameplate on the door read "Kalina Doggett". Sitting at the desk, facing the door, was William's new partner. She looked up at him, and smiled. William noticed immediately how attractive she was. She stood about 5'6" with some gigantic shoes on, and had straight brown hair which brushed her collar bones. She had a delicate facial structure, and amazingly blue eyes. As soon as William managed to pick his chin up off the floor, he extended his hand.

"H-hi. I'm William Van de Kamp, you're new partner." She stepped around the desk, and removed her glasses, extending her hand as well, saying, 

"Nice to meet you, Agent Van de Kamp. I'm Kalina Doggett, welcome to the X-Files."


	2. Chapter 2

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Title: Finding a Family Part 2  
**Author**: Gillian Leigh  
**Disclaimer**: Umm.. see chapter 1... 

It was later that same day that William and Kalina sat in their office reading over the case of a woman who had been found dead on her living room floor, of what seemed to be a heart attack, but when her husband was on the phone to the paramedics, he returned to the living room to find that his dead wife was missing, and the front door to their home was left wide open. 

"When the police arrived, there were no signs of forced entry, or foul play. Based on evidence, and the eye-witness account of a nosy neighbor, it would appear that Mrs. Clark left the residence under her own power," Kalina read from the case file in front of her. William sat at his desk, leaning back in his chair, and ever the skeptic, said, 

"Well, couldn't he have mistaken her for dead? I mean, what if she was just... unconscious. Have we totally ruled out the possibility that she may have had a seizure?" Kalina looked at him over the top of the folder.

"Her husband was a doctor, William. I don't think he would have mistaken his wife for dead after being a doctor for almost forty years," she said, sarcastically. 

"Dead people don't just get up and leave, Agent Doggett. Either she was never dead, or that nosy neighbor was mistaken in what she saw," he said, setting his feet back on the floor when he heard someone knock.

"Come in," Kalina called. An important looking man entered the office. Kalina smiled and said, 

"Morning." She rose to give him a hug, and William looked at her, questioningly. "Assistant Director Doggett, I'd like for you to meet my new partner, William Van de Kamp." The A.D. extended his hand, and Will rose, walking around the desk, and shook it. 'Doggett?' he thought to himself, 'Is this Kalina's uncle or something?' 

"Nice to meet you, Agent Van de Kamp," A.D. Doggett said, studying William's face. His bone structure, all of his features, especially the nose and eyes, seemed eerily familiar, but John Doggett was sure he had never seen this man before. 

"William, this is my dad, John Doggett," William smiled, and as soon as he clasped the man's hand, images flashed through his mind. 

-The red haired woman, Scully was her name, was sitting on a couch in an office in the FBI Building, William had seen it before. This man, Doggett, was seated next to her, though the wrinkles had disappeared from his skin, and the gray was gone from his hair. This must have been many years ago. The two are talking, but Will can't hear the words. Scully looks at Doggett, indignantly, as though his comments sting like a slap, and turns over his name tag. She says something, and proceeds to throw the cup of water Doggett got for her in his face, get up and walk away.- 

Had circumstances been different, William might have laughed, because the spectacle was indeed funny, but he was too scared by the way in which the vision had come to him. This hadn't happened before. Hearing voices and having weird dreams were bad enough, but now to be seeing things? This was getting worse and worse with each passing day. But he was amazed at the clarity with which Scully's face had appeared to him. He knew what she looked like now, and he shuddered, wondering what he was stumbling onto. He opened his eyes, and found himself face to face with the concerned expressions of Kalina and John Doggett. 

"Are you alright, Van de Kamp?" the Assistant Director asked, gripping William's arm. William pulled his arm free of the AD's grip. 

"Fine, sir. I'm fine," he muttered, rubbing his head. The vision had given him a headache. William could tell that while Doggett was not convinced, he backed off, and said, 

"Well, I have to go. I'll be talking to you both later, no doubt. Nice meeting you, Agent Van de Kamp." He waved to the two Agents and stepped out of the door, into the hall. As he walked to the elevator, something kept bothering him. William Van de Kamp had looked so familiar, but he couldn't place him. He wouldn't have seen the man before, according to the notice he had received, and William's accompanying files, he had moved to Arlington from some little town in Wyoming just before he started college. Right after he'd lost his parents in a car crash. He had a hunch, and he hurried back to his office, the office which used to belong to Walter Skinner, and placed a hurried call from the phone on his desk, making sure to lock the door. 

One ring.

Two rings.

Three rings.

"God damn it, Skinner, pick up the freakin' phone!" he hissed into the receiver. After a fourth ring, a familiar voice said, 

"Hello?"

"Walter, it's John, John Doggett." he says into the receiver, settling into his chair. 

"Morning John, what can I do for you?" 

"Sir, I know this is a long shot, but do you remember any particulars from when you tried to access the adoption information on Mulder and Scully's son William?" Skinner sighed on the other end. 

"John, that was over twenty years ago..." Skinner said. John played with a pen, doodling on his day planner as he said, 

"I know, Walter. But if you can remember anything, a last name, an adoptive parent, even a state... anything.." Skinner paused for a moment, wracking his brain for any information about William. 

"I remember, that we found out the last name of the adoptive parents, but we couldn't get in contact with Mulder and Scully to tell them. The last name of his adoptive parents was Van-something. Van de....." he paused, and Doggett's eyebrows shot up as he looked at William's file which lay open in front of him.

"Walter, was it Van de Kamp?" he asked, frantically. Skinner's silence was killing him. 

"Van de Kamp.... yes, that's definitely it," he said. 

"Oh god," he said, staring at the file of the newest X-Files agent. 

"What is it, John?" Skinner asked, sounding worried.

"Walter, William Van de Kamp was just assigned to the X-Files." 


	3. Chapter 3

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Title: Finding a Family Part 3  
**Author**: Gillian Leigh  
**Disclaimer**: We've been through this. You know, and I know who I did and did not make up, and that I'm not intending on any copyright infringement here...

J. Edgar Hoover Building   
April 24, 2026

"Good Morning William," Alyse Baxter said as she ushered Will into her office. "I'm glad to see that you've come back to talk to me again this week." He sat down on the couch; she sat in the chair directly across from him. He decided to get right to it.

" Alyse, I don't know how relevant this is, but I heard these voices in the elevator, and I found out who the woman is. Her name was Scully. I-I don't know what exactly that means, but..." Alyse noted this, before she said, 

"William, you know, I did some checking, and at the time you would have been having these dreams, there was an Assistant Director Walter Skinner who worked here. There were many Agents who were under him, but one who is still here is the current Assistant Director, John Doggett. Skinner himself retired about seven years ago, and appointed Doggett to the position of Assistant Director. You could probably speak to him about that time period." William nodded, digesting that, and it was the mention of Doggett that made him remember the "premonition" he had experienced when he first met Doggett. 

"I don't know how important this is, or even what it is... but when I shook hands with A.D. Doggett, I had this... premonition, or something. I saw Scully and Doggett sitting on a red leather couch in this building somewhere, and they were talking, and she got angry and threw a cup of water in his face," Will said, wondering just how stupid this sounded. Alyse Baxter sat back, trying to process what exactly she was hearing.

"You saw Doggett with this red-haired woman? William, I have to tell you, that at first, I thought that it was possible that you were creating these characters based on people that you knew, but now that Doggett is coming into the picture, I'm starting to wonder.." She stopped herself, shaking her head. She was supposed to be the one offering a rational explanation here. She had been trained not to indulge the fantasies of those she was counseling. Her job was to find the realistic explanation, and as much as she would like to believe that what William was experiencing was a psychic phenomenon, she had to put her personal beliefs aside and stick with what was practical. 

"What is it?" William questioned, sensing her hesitation. He knew how preposterous his claims sounded. If he hadn't been the one to experience them, if someone else was telling him these things, he would undoubtedly be skeptical of such assertions. Alyse shook her head. 

"Nothing. Nothing at all. Well, William, I'm sorry to have to end like this, but I have another appointment in a matter of minutes. So if you'll excuse me, I have to go get things ready, and I believe you have to get back to the X-Files..." She smiled at him, and Will gave her a small grin, feeling embarrassed. He was a skeptic. Always had been. He gathered his coat and headed out of her office. The walk to the elevator seemed longer than usual. Perhaps it was because he dreaded having to go down to the dingy basement office, which short of Kalina's energetic spirit and charisma, seemed devoid of all life. It was secluded, cut off from everything else in the building. He hoped and prayed that there would never be a fire, because if there was, they were screwed. 

He stepped out of the elevator and headed to the door. He paused for a moment to study it. Under Kalina's name, his own had been added. He nodded, opening the door. Kalina was typing away on her laptop intensely as she scanned documents which were on the desk, to her left. She looked up when she saw William entering the office.

"Hey, Will. How'd things go with Baxter? Any revelations?" she teased, smiling at him. He smiled back, laughing. _'It's impossible to not to..' _ he thought to himself.

"Nah, not this time anyways." He sat at his desk, pulling his laptop from his briefcase. He turned it on, and the monitor flickered. He hit the side of it with his palm, sighing and saying, 

"Leave it to the FBI to issue the crappiest laptops ever produced."

"FBI standard issue. 100% faulty and unpredictable, just like most of the people who work in this building," Kalina muttered, cracking up. William, remembering what Alyse had said about A.D. Doggett once working on the X-Files, closed his laptop and looked at Kalina. 

"Hey, Kalina, your dad's worked for the FBI for a long time, right?" She looked up at him, removing her glasses.

"Yeah, I guess it's been about twenty-five years now. My mom started here about the same time as my dad, but she left the Bureau when I was about two. She and my dad worked on the X-Files for a long time together. After she left, they assigned him an Agent Harrison, but the partnership didn't last long. The Deputy Director, who at the time was Kersh, died mysteriously, and when he was replaced, the guy was a real conservative type, very budget minded, and he felt that since the X-Files wasn't solving any miraculous cases, it would be shut down. Skinner and my dad protested, but this new guy, he went over their heads. My dad was put to work in Domestic Terrorism, and word has it that Leyla Harrison, his temporary partner, was so overly upset when the X-Files was shut down, she left the Bureau for good. Why do you ask?" Skinner. Doggett. The X-Files. They were all connected. That meant that Doggett would know what the hell was going on with this Scully, and what the name of the man in his dream was. Maybe he could find out about the kid, too.

He shrugged. "No reason, really. Just curious." Having nothing else to do, he walked over to the filing cabinets, which were older than he was, and barely used, if at all. All of the filing was done in the Bureau's computer systems these days. He opened the top drawer of the filing cabinet, and began scanning the labels on all of the cases. He was aimlessly flipping through them all, when one in particular caught his eye. The label read, "Scully, Melissa". His heart skipped a beat. Could this be the red-haired woman? He opened the file, and saw a headshot of this woman, Melissa Scully. She did have red hair, but her face didn't seem familiar. William kept reading, and was disappointed to find that not only did she have no children, but she died in 1995, succumbing to injuries as a result of a gunshot wound to the head. Sighing, he put the folder back where he had found it. Kalina didn't bother to look up. She had learned not to question William on what he was doing, sometimes it seemed to bother him that she inquired. He felt his personal space had been violated. He tended to not get too close to people. Disheartened, he sat down at his desk. 

"Did you try the databases?" Kalina asked, without looking up. 

"What?" Will asked.

"If you're looking for someone, you could try one of the databases, or all of them," she contributed. 

"I was just gonna do that," William, said, opening his laptop. Kalina rolled her eyes, 

"Yeah, sure you were." He opened the FBI Database which stored employee information. The information went back fifty years, and William hoped this would end his search for this Scully person. He typed "Scully" into the search engine, not having a first name to go on. There was only one result, a "Scully, Dana K." He clicked the hyperlink, and an employee profile, complete with picture popped up. The woman was definitely the red-haired woman in his dream. He noticed that her hair was longer than in all of his dreams, though she didn't look much older. Will was surprised to find that his heart was racing as he scrolled through her files. Her name was Dana Katherine Scully, and she was born February 23, 1964, which would make her sixty-one years old at the present date. He was surprised by the number of hospitalizations, and absences in her records. She had been "missing" for a period of time in the early 1990s, and was hospitalized several times for gunshot wounds, among other things. Also in her medical records, Will found that she had been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, but the cancer had gone into remission eventually. This had caused only a brief absence from work. He read on and found something which caused him great surprise.

"Maternity leave?" he asked aloud, and Kalina looked up. She didn't say a word, but stood up and walked to his desk. For once, she was surprised to find that he didn't snap his laptop shut and glare at her. 

"Special Agent Dana Scully?" she asked, and mulled the name over in her mind. "My dad mentioned her a couple of times. Apparently he worked with her on the X-Files before my mom came along. He didn't, and still doesn't talk about her much, apparently, she hurt him, somehow," she said, looking at William. "What's your interest in her?" Will had to lie, and quickly. He couldn't tell Kalina about his dreams. One therapist was enough. 

"The Section Chief mentioned an Agent Scully when she assigned me to the X-Files. I just wanted to find out more about her," he said, turning back to the screen. Kalina studied the woman's picture and said, 

"Ya know, Will, you kinda look like her." 


	4. Chapter 4

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Title: Finding a Family, Part 4  
**Author**: Amanda (better known to you all as Gillian Leigh :o) 

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Rating: PG   
**Disclaimer**: We all know who the X-Files characters belong to :oP  
**Author's Notes**: More is coming :o) Stay tuned!

J. Edgar Hoover Building   
April 24, 2026

William rode the elevator up to the floor which A.D. Doggett's office was on. In one hand he clutched the picture and information on this "Dana Scully" he had printed out. When he had noted that her file ended abruptly sometime in mid 2002, and there was no explanation for her sudden leave, he knew that it was time to act on Alyse Baxter's advice and talk to the Assistant Director. He wasn't even totally sure at times why he wanted so badly to find this Scully person, or the other agent in his dream. There was something pushing him forward, and he felt a strange attachment to these people, though he was sure he had never seen them before, as he now felt a growing attachment and interest in the X-Files. The project he was sent to debunk. He had a feeling that just like Agent Scully had, he too would fail in his assignment. 

The Assistant Director's assistant was not at her desk, and William wasn't about to wait around for her to come back. He knocked on the door, and Doggett opened it. 

"Agent Van de Kamp, what can I do for you?" he said, ushering him inside. William paced back and forth in front of John's desk, and only stopped when Doggett issued the patient command, 

"William, please, sit down." He sat, but continued fidgeting. Doggett continued, "Now what is it you came to see me about?" Will couldn't remain sitting, and he stood, but this time he didn't pace. He said, 

"Sir, I was at my weekly session with the Counselor, Alyse Baxter, and I was telling her about these strange dreams I've been having, for over a decade now. And there were people in the dreams, and I found out that one of them was an Agent Dana Scully." As soon as the name left his mouth, Doggett felt his heart beating faster. *He* was going to be the one to have to tell him about his family, about his past, even though it was Doggett who knew not much more than William. William, oblivious to Doggett's change in expression, continued with his story, and said, 

"And she said that you worked with Agent Scully, and you could tell me about her," William said, trying to keep the pleading expression from his eyes. Doggett closed his eyes for a moment, and opened them to find that William was pacing again. It was beginning to get on his nerves and he said,

"Jesus, William, will you sit down! You're starting to remind me more and more of your father!" William stopped dead at Doggett's words. Doggett, realizing what he had just said, inhaled sharply.

"You know my father? My *real* father?" William asked, his voice dropping off to a whisper as he sank into the chair. With shaking hands he set the picture of Scully on the Assistant Director's desk. Doggett looked up a William, and cleared his throat before saying, 

"Yes. I knew him." William's expression was a mix of shock and joy. 

"Who is he?" Doggett decided to be straightforward, and business-like. 

"Your father, was Special Agent Fox Mulder. He discovered the X-Files. I see you already found your mother," he said, gesturing to the picture on his desk. 

"Dana Scully is my mother?!" William asked, his whole body trembling. Doggett nodded.

"My parents worked here? They worked in this building, in that dingy basement office?!" Doggett nodded again.

"Mulder and Scully were famous in the FBI because they worked on the X-Files. Your father, was more well-known than your mother, but they were remarkable together," Doggett said, with a slight smile at the memory of walking into the office to see Mulder seated at his desk, pointing something to Scully, who leaned over his shoulder, countering his theory. He had never understood why this moment stuck with him, why he didn't remember Mulder and Scully from the more casual moments, or the ones filled with emotion. But after all these years, it was this memory that stuck with him. 

"William, there's much more I have to tell you, but I would rather we talk somewhere else. Would you come to my house tonight, after work? My wife, Monica, also worked with Mulder and Scully, and there's much more we can tell you. And show you, for that matter, if you'll just come over. Please," he said, feeling suddenly overwhelmed. He hoped that Monica could help him with this complicated and touchy situation. William nodded slightly, and stood up when Doggett did, saying, 

"Thank you, Sir." The two shook hands, and as William was on his way out of the office, Doggett added, 

"I'll call you during lunch break to give you the directions. And just so you know, Agent Van de Kamp, you don't need to share this with Kalina right away, just because she's your partner, or because she's my daughter. Wait until you feel comfortable; there's no rush." William nodded, and quietly exited the office. 

John sat at his desk and massaged his temples momentarily, before picking up the phone. He dialed and was glad to hear his wife's voice after two rings.

"Hello?"

"Hey Mon," he said tiredly. 

"Hey sweetheart, how are you?" she asked, the usual level of vivacity in her voice. 

"Mon, plan on having an extra guest for dinner," he said, William's open file and Scully's picture staring up at him. 

"Who's coming?" she asked, and he imagined that she was casually moving about the house, doing the dishes, or working on their finances on the computer. He closed his eyes when he said, 

"William." There was a pause, and Monica said, 

"John, William who?"

"Monica, are you sitting down?" 

"No, should I be?" she laughed. John was deathly serious on the other end of the line, however, as he said,

"Yes, you should be." Monica sat down, and said, 

"Alright, John, I'm sitting. Now, can you tell me who's coming to dinner?" He paused, and Monica sensed the hesitation, and said, 

"John, is something wrong?" He ignored her question and said, 

"Monica, Mulder and Scully's son William is coming to dinner tonight." He heard her inhale sharply, and she sputtered, 

"John?"

"Calm down, Mon. Take a breather; I've got a lot to tell you." 


	5. Chapter 5

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Title: Finding a Family, Part 5

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Author: Gillian Leigh

****

Disclaimer: See and earlier installment...

Doggett Residence  
April 24, 2026   
6:54 p.m.

William stood on the steps in front of the Assistant Director's house. He was troubled by many things, that evening. Between Kalina being angry with him because he was so distant and vague the entire day, and finding out that not only did Doggett know his parents, but they were the infamous Mulder and Scully, whose names were synonymous with rule breaking and unorthodox investigative tactics. The two had been dismissed, suspended and rehired more than he could have ever imagined. He had learned all of this after spending the entire afternoon pouring over Mulder and Scully's files, and as many X-Files as he could find that the two had worked on together. Although he managed to gain an abundance of professional and medical history on the two, he hoped that the Assistant Director and his wife could fill in some of the personal things, and help him know who his parents truly were. He raised his hand to knock, but couldn't bring himself to do it. 

As William was inches away from rapping on the door, it opened. He was startled when he found himself staring at a familiar face. 

"Kalina?" he asked, surprised that she was there, but at the same time, angry that Doggett had told her when he had promised not to. The woman sighed, 

"Nah, I just look like her." Confused, William simply said, 

"Sorry?" She laughed, and said, 

"I'm Kalina's twin sister, Ariana. You must be William. Please, come inside." William stepped inside the house. Ariana called, 

"Mom, Dad, William's here!" William saw the Assistant Director come from the kitchen, followed closely by the woman who was, evidently, his wife. Monica brushed past her husband, drying her hands on a towel. William extended his hand to shake, but Monica forwent all formalities and hugged him. He was a little taken aback, but he didn't have time to question her before he began having a vision.

-The place they are in is unbearably hot, and hasn't been in use in a number of years, by the looks of it. There are so many people there, but only two are familiar, William notices as the scene flashes before his eyes. Agent Scully, and the Assistant Director's wife, Monica. Agent Scully is on a bed, wearing a gray tee-shirt, and covered in sweat. She's in labor and pushing. The people surrounding the two in the room are deathly silent, and their gazes are focused solely on Agent Scully. 

_"Harder! Push, Dana!" _Monica shouts, but Agent Scully does not, she only whimpers, and is silent for a moment. 

_"Keep breathing, Dana. Keep breathing," _Monica says. 

"_Please don't let them take it!" _Scully pleads. Monica says, 

_"Push! Push. Push, Dana, push!" _Scully complies, and cries out in pain. Her cry is joined by that of a newborn. The other people in the room are silent and still, and Scully watches them in fear.-

William opened his eyes and felt a searing pain in the front of his head. His hand instinctively moved to cover his eyes, and in an instant, he realized that he was lying on the floor, surrounded by the various members of the Doggett family. 

****

"Are you alright?" Monica asked, looking panicked. William sat up, and said, 

"Yeah. I'm fine." 

"Apparently, you're not," Ariana interjected. "If you were fine, you wouldn't have just passed out as soon as my mom touched you." William shot her a glare. Like her sister, she had a tendency to butt in where she wasn't wanted.

"What happened, William?" Monica asked, as she guided him to the sofa.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Will said, practically scoffing. 

"Try us," Doggett said as he sat down on the couch as well. For some reason, Will got the feeling that they would have heard stranger things than what was about to come out of his mouth. He took a deep breath and said, 

"For years now, I've been having dreams, and I recently found out that they're about my real parents. My biological mother and father. Even more recently, places they've been and people that were important in their lives, have triggered flashbacks. I've been hearing their voices, and seeing their faces. When I shook your hand, Monica, I had a flash of my mom in labor, in an old building. It seemed deserted, and she was terrified, as were you. Assistant Director, when I shook your hand in the office, I saw my mom sitting in a chair next to you, and you said something that must have pissed her off, because she threw water in your face and walked away." Doggett smiled a little, and Monica laughed. 

"Let's just say that your mother wasn't too overly fond of me when we first met," he said, offering a half-smile. Monica was in awe of the things Will had told her. 

"William, the memory that you experienced, with your mother and me, that was when you were born. Your mother didn't have any other children...in fact, before you, she was told she couldn't have children at all."

"Why were all those people there? And why wasn't she in a hospital?"

"Your parents' history, concerning abductions and various forms of testing left many people to wonder about your conception. Those people, who were what your father called 'Human-Alien Hybrids' believed you were the Hybrid who would lead the world into the hands of the aliens. They believed you would be their leader. When you were born, they found out that you were not as they had expected. Your mother and father didn't know who to trust, and that was why you couldn't be born in a hospital. But once they found out that you were not the child they had expected, they simply left." 

"But if everything was alright, then why did my parents give me up for adoption? Why didn't they keep me?" he questioned, having a hard time digesting what Monica was telling him. 

"Your father's life was in danger, after you were born, and he had to leave. Your mother felt that your life was in danger as well, and she knew that she couldn't protect you anymore, so she gave you up for adoption. You have to understand how hard she worked to get you back once your father was home, Will. But they were both on the run then. Your dad was falsely accused in a murder and sentenced to death. We all helped him escape, but he and your mom had to disappear. They couldn't be known as Fox Mulder and Dana Scully to anyone anymore. It was a hard time. They cleaned out the X-Files office as punishment to John and myself for our loyalty, and to the former Assistant Director as well. It was almost six years before we received any confirmation that your mother and father were alive, and even then we couldn't mail anything back to them, because we didn't know where they were. We weren't allowed to know. Your mom and dad were on a mission to save the world, Will. I'll explain along the way, but John and I need to take you to see something," Monica said, and rose from the couch. John followed suit, motioning for William to do the same. 

The trio got into Monica's car, and she piloted them a short distance, stopping in front of Green Gates Cemetery. Will's heart sunk into the pit of his stomach. Seeing his expression, Monica said, 

"No, darling. It's not what you think. Just come with us." Will walked nervously behind Monica and John, who stopped in front of a single headstone. On the left, it read, "Dana Katherine Scully 1964-2012" on the right, it read, "Fox William Mulder 1961-2012". 

"If this isn't what it looks like, then would someone please tell me what exactly it *is*?" John took over this time, putting a hand on Will's shoulder. 

"The two caskets in these graves, are empty, William. For all intents and purposes, your mother and father have been dead since July 3, 2012. Before today, there were a total of four people who knew your mom and dad are still alive. Today, you're the fifth." Will swallowed hard, trying to hide his shock. 

"Your parents did a wonderful thing on July 3, Will. They did it for all of mankind, and the only people who know who they have to thank for still being able to call Earth home, are the same people who know that they aren't lying in those graves," John continued, his hands in his pockets; his eyes remained fixed on the headstone. "They saved the world. 2012 was to be the Apocalypse; the end of all life on Earth; the Sixth Extinction. Somehow, to this *day* we aren't even sure, your mom and dad managed to stop the alien invasion which would have spelled the end of human life on Earth. They spent the ten years after they fled in some remote region of Ireland, figuring out how to save the world. And they did it." Will felt tears welling up in his eyes, and a sense of pride was blooming within his chest. His parents had saved the world. _His_ mom and dad; no one else's. 

"But if they saved the world, why couldn't they come back?" he asked, quietly. 

"They may have saved the world, but they couldn't be sure who was still out there to get them," Monica said, quietly. "So they staged their deaths, and your mother's mother, being the only family they had left, per se, confirmed that the bodies were your mom and dad. She also refused to allow autopsies to be done on the two, which made things far less complicated. To the rest of the world, your mom and dad were dead. The John and Jane Doe whose bodies were called theirs were cremated and disposed of. Only your mother's mother, Maggie, the former Assistant Director Skinner, John and myself, knew that we were putting empty caskets into the ground.

"Another ten years passed before we heard from them again. Your grandma Maggie passed away just after Christmas, some five years before they contacted us again. It was the hardest thing I ever had to tell your mother, Will," Monica said, growing teary-eyed. 

"Where are they now?" 

"Living in Glasgow, Scotland." 

"Would we be able to find them?" Will asked, pushing his hair out of his eyes. _Messy just like his father's,_ Monica thought with a smile. She frowned slightly, and said, 

"Are you sure you want to do that, Will?"

"They're my parents, Monica. And I need to thank them for saving the world....and tell them that I'm okay. I just want to see them. Just having dreams and flashbacks isn't enough. I need to meet them." 

"We'll get you there, Will," John said quietly, taking one last look at the headstone before looking up to meet Will's gaze. Will nodded, and in that instant, a promise was made. One not meant to be broken. 


	6. Chapter 6

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Title: Finding a Family, Part 6  
**Author**: Gillian Leigh  
**Disclaimer**: See an earlier installment, please.

Mulder Residence   
Glasgow, Scotland  
May 8, 2026  
3:44 p.m. 

A knock at the door quickly gained Dana Mulder's attention. She had been sitting in her living room, reading a book, enjoying the warm spring breeze that entered through the open windows. Her husband looked up from his newspaper, and ran a hand through his graying hair. 

"I'll get it," she called, her voice containing a soft Irish accent from all the years living there. 

"Alright," Fox called back, the accent edging his voice as well. He rose out of his chair anyway to join her. Though his wife was sixty-one, and he was sixty-four, they'd hardly lost the agile movement of their youth. Regular exercise and healthy living preserved that. 

Dana opened the door, and asked of the tall, young man at the door, 

"What can I do for you?" 

"Maybe you can help me, I'm in the process of finding a family..." She knew the mannerisms and movement anywhere; they were identical to Fox's. Another quick glance at his blue eyes and prominent nose told her she was right. 

"William?!" she practically whispered. Fox had to steady himself as he steadied his wife. 

"Oh, my God," he muttered, tears involuntarily falling. "Is it really you?" he asked, wanting so badly to believe that it hurt. Will nodded. Dana covered her mouth with her hand, and began to sob. She didn't hesitate to put her arms around her son, and she buried her face in his shirt, inhaling his scent. Fox moved in as well, and embraced his son. 

"We thought we'd never see you again," Dana said, wiping her eyes. They brought him in off the porch and closed the door, ushering him into the living room. From where they stood just to the side of the cobbled path which lead to the porch steps, John and Monica could clearly see the three figures moving about the living room. Monica took a deep breath and said, 

"Happy Birthday, Will." John grinned and added, 

"Hope you've gotten all that you asked for." Monica smiled, and looked up at her husband. And with that, they walked away. Family found.

-le fin-

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Author's Notes: Alright, I posted this once, but I took it off, because I had no idea where I was going with it. Now it's back, and I finished it ! Woohoo! Honest opinions, please, but keep the flames to a minimum. Feedback is GOLD!! Write me and I'll love you forever. (twistedmoonbeam8@hotmail.com) Oh, and if there are any discrepancies, forgive me, it's been a while since I've looked at this story, and it's late right now, and I'm exhausted, but I had to post this, or I wouldn't sleep at all tonight. Oh, and the Scotland thing... never been there... so I could be making stuff up, but let's just say I'm making use of my artistic license. :oP


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